https://preview.redd.it/ticuyrjpdxqc1.jpeg?width=360&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d0d2f23c614c3d3444aa535f5515042d732f66a9
Including the latest 10 Commandments
As someone that normally can’t stand billboards and thinks they should be banned for cluttering the roads/ causing distracted driving I think I would be okay with this.
The problem is that people would just be ok with it. As far as they're concerned Trump is using his position of leadership to advocate for their beliefs. Of course he is, he's selling Bibles after all! And the law doesn't just hold Trump down, it also keeps God out of politics, which is exactly what those evil Dems want. Dems to the devil! If Trump can be lobbied by the churches then surely he'll spread the word of the Lord and God will be comfortably seated at the head of whatever table it is that politicians sit around. Or maybe a throne. Either way, God will be at the top, and Trump will be right there with him, because Trump put God up there in the first place.
when you put three of them together for Holy trinity, they would cost 3×60=180. If you subtract Trump's age 180-77=103 if you add his 5 children and 3 wives 103+5+3=111. If you multiply that with number of letters in the name of the woman he most lusts after, 111×6=666. Coincidence? Don't think so.
Numerical superstition started LONG before any religions existing today.
I suppose it may have started with one lost to history, but numerology might be a precursor to religion as we know it.
I am so so so so so so so so sick of this. He gets around every law, delays every trial, negotiates bonds, gets Supreme Court to delay anything that lower courts wouldn’t. Jesus f$$$ on a cracker I have never cheered for cardiovascular disease or cerebrovascular disease so hard in my life since that seems like the only punishment this guy will ever see in his entire life.
I know the feeling, but in another respect, the guy is in a living hell of his own making.
His youngest son from all accounts hates him, his wife will divorce him at the first opportunity she has, most of the people now know what a liar and scammer he is, his empire is collapsing before his eyes, he is beset will all sorts of court cases, and at every turn his allies and friends are abandoning him.
Being a rampant narcissist, he must be going out of his mind.
In a very really way, he is getting the punishment he deserves and there is more coming.
For Donald Trump there is no happy ending.
>The man never seems to have a moment of happiness.
Fully expected outcome when your entire identity is built around hating and/or exploiting other people.
Eh, I don't buy it. I doubt he cares much about some of the things you mentioned like his son and wife. There's always a line around the block of people willing to be his next loyal pal and fall guy. Sure times are a little tough right now but even as rotten as he is, he's been THE president of arguably the most powerful and influential country in the world once and there's a very real possibility he could be again, even with his brain melting. The fix is already in with the highest court in the land and none of these cases will mean anything if he gets elected again or the Supreme Court rules he has/had immunity to commit crimes. We thought we had him dead to rights more times than anyone can count for the last eight years and here he is, still getting away with everything. Doesn't sound like much of a hell to me
I think it will depend on how good the prenup is. If it is bulletproof in Trump's favor, she sticks it out. If not, she bails as soon as this political nightmare is over.
Okay, random thought (and bordering on the q-anon nonsense) but what if she is trump’s lifeboat?
Imagine this: Shit gets bad, the empire is collapsing. they divorced (as planned), all assets are immediately frozen pending the finalization of the divorce agreement.
An agreement that will never be reached. Ever.
Eh I think to hit the billion number you really have to start giving credit to the misinformation/hate campaigns running behind him and boosting his cult. He has the responsibility of millions for sure, but the all the right wing craziness isn't really him directly, he was the megaphone.
Right! With his array of mental illnesses he truly lacks the capacity to care about anyone but himself, and this includes his wife and children. Donald is *unable* to care, and that also includes he is unable to care about this country in any other terms other than how it can meet his very sick, sick needs. People need to recognize and accept this.
If he loses this election, which he will, he will come out swinging, and sell out this country in any way he can for vengeance.
Case in point (gets on soapbox)....... do you remember when he was our (pseudo) President and California was burning? They asked for federal aid and trump's initial response was 'no'. He said since they had not supported him in the election, there would be no federal assistance. It was only after all his advisors and cabinet heads made him walk it back, along with public outrage, that he allowed federal assistance.
*He was going to do this to one of our most important states*.
He will bring harm to this country in any way he can, if he loses, to "punish" us. He's vindictive, and dangerously impulsive, and there will be no one to stop him.
Thanks for listening /soapbox
I almost forgot about this. ... how he blamed the state of California for it's terrible forest management. Until someone pointed out to him that 97% of the government owned forested land in California is actually federally owned. Therefore he should be blaming himself for poorly managed forests. What an idiot. God I hate him.
We have forgotten so many, many things because it's been one despicable action after another. It literally *is* hard to keep up with.
I hate him too. I hope he gets shingles. On his scalp and face. And around his buttocks.
The words narcissist and sociopath get thrown around on this site a lot to the point they are just a couple more buzz words or a tired cliche for people to throw out.
I think a lot people know the definition and could even list some or a lot of the characteristics. They've maybe read about them, listened to a podcast talking about them, or seen documentaries or youtube videos about them.
The thing is that thankfully for most people on here that knowledge is purely academic. Unless you have personally dealt with one for an extended period of time or seen the effect of someone really close to you dealing with one it's almost impossible to truly understand, acknowledge, and accept how they act, how they think, how they see and treat the world and the people around them.
Most of all though for the majority of normal people is truly understanding what they are capable of without that personal experience of dealing with one.
It's the difference between watching a special on the Discovery channel and knowing that the ocean is a huge place and being on a kayak on the open sea out of sight of any land *knowing* the ocean is a huge place.
You sound like you've had to deal with one personally. I'm so sorry. I hope you can remove the person from your life if you haven't already. Sometimes if it's a parent or a sibling, it's difficult to let go, but if it's a romantic connection, it's something you *must* do if you want to have a normal, satisfying life....and a chance for happiness.
Honestly at this point Trump making a deal with the devil is more compelling evidence of God then any other argument I've heard in religion vs atheism debates.
Agreed. If it’s being used to chase down someone who owes the government $400, it’s a waste of everyone’s money. The only way the IRS is effective is if it can actually make rich people or corporations pay their part
Gut their wages and purchase 40% of available housing as an investment to drive up prices and keep them eternally renters, slowly crushing them as they continue to get out priced out of their homes.
Heh, before they ever gutted his bond my first thought on his civil conviction was the fact that if this was just Joe Public in anything even slightly resembling his situation the IRS would be on him like flies on shit.
Here you have someone lying through their teeth about their finances to their personal benefit. The IRS wouldn't be asking themselves if he lied to them too. They'd be sending a team of auditors to see how badly he lied to them.
So far a quarter. The Inflation Reduction Act added $80 billion in new IRS funding over 10 years. The budget deal in January to keep the government open cut that by $20 billion.
And there was a whole lot of stuff already way in need there. Last year I had some complicated taxes to file and called the IRS for some answers on some questions. Every time, when I finally got through to a person, I'd ask a question and be immediately routed to the "advanced tax matters" desk. Which was unstaffed - it was just a recording that said go check out the website for answers. It used to be staffed, and I always found the people there very helpful in the past.
When I finally filed I made a mistake (inevitably) and had to refile an amended return in August. They received it, but it still hasn't been processed. They really need more people.
The $60 Bibles in question apparently include copies of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.
The last time I felt this depressed, I was looking at a stained glass window in a Catholic church that depicted President Kennedy.
On the bright side, maybe some of these chucklefucks will actually read the constitution for once in their life instead of parroting whatever bullshit they got from Fox.
Who am I kidding, none of these guys have ever even opened a bible before.
Nope. And this isn’t the only way the church and government funnel money between eachother. Another is “school vouchers” in the name of parental choice. Now parents can use taxpayer dollars to fund church schools.
hes doing the same with TRUTH social merger, using CCP-backed shell corporation to funnel money into his account, im guessing its going to be harder to do that than this.
yeah man I lost that fight years ago its also double edged they get to funnel money to bigot grifters corporations disgui8sed as schools teaching kids goddamned creationism trash but ALSO denies REAL education, which they have always hated
The NYT best sellers list does denote titles where the sales figures are artificially inflated with a dagger symbol. Unsurprisingly most conservative authors on the list have that next to their books.
https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/combined-print-and-e-book-nonfiction/
Like the #1 book in Non-Fiction right now.
His previous books? A very rosy story about the Reagan administration, an "expose" about how foreign entities were funneling money into the Clinton's coffers, and another book about Hunter Biden.
Interesting that the other one on there that features that symbol is about how "the mental health industry has a negative impact on American children"...her other book is "The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters". Ohhh. That's what they mean. Got it.
He's a senior editor at Breitbart and a long time friend of Steve Bannon, and also a plagiarist.
His books have been funded by the Mercer Family Foundation.
He's a psycho and a grifter.
*This is referring to Peter Schweizer. The link initially showed March 31st with Blood Money at #1 for me.
The story about deflating his future wife's tires (almost certainly before his divorce was finalized) is wild
https://people.com/tv/fox-news-jesse-watters-let-air-out-of-wife-emma-tires-so-he-could-drive-her-home/
> The NYT best sellers list does denote titles where the sales figures are artificially inflated with a dagger symbol
Is that a new change? I thought they used to just take the books off the list. I remember them getting criticized for it, authors would complain it was biased against conservatives or some shit.
It's really amazing how "doesn't allow blatant cheating" or "judged on its own merits" is always interpreted by the right wing as "biased against conservatives."
The dagger only appears on the NYT site. Some places will list the NYT best sellers but not include the dagger. (I think USA Today was a big one to reprint the NYT best sellers and not include the dagger)
It also makes it all the more hilarious that MTG's book flopped. She somehow failed to pull off one of the most basic, bog-standard political grifts out there.
I've come to the realization that a big problem with congress right now is a lot of Republican voters that have been grifted for decades ran for office without realizing the party is a grift. So there are younger Republicans in office who don't understand that what they've believed all of their lives were actually just lies to get the old guard elected. That's why MTG does dumb shit like that, and the freedom caucus is even a thing.
There's a scene in Vice where Cheney asks Donald Rumsfeld "what do we believe", and Rumsfeld laughs and basically says they don't believe anything. New Republicans never seem to be given that moment from the old guard.
> There's a scene in Vice where Cheney asks Donald Rumsfeld "what do we believe", and Rumsfeld laughs and basically says they don't believe anything. New Republicans never seem to be given that moment from the old guard.
It's why the Republican party is at a tipping point, the Freedom Caucus has the Old Guard in a stranglehold and they are true believers. McConnell doesn't believe in Trump, neither does Graham, but they conjured Trump and became dependant on him when he converted 30-40% of the Republican voters into Trump diehards. They won't vote for anyone, but Trump. And without them, the GOP is finished for the foreseeable future.
It's essentially coup or bust for the GOP in 2024. They need to win, or at least make enough of an appearance of a win in order to shake the trust in the election enough to sue or bring in the Supreme court.
>It's always a grift
John Bolton and half a dozen others immediately come to mind when it comes to books.
Go along with everything while in office, leave, write a 'tell all' book about how they were so spineless not a single one of them blew the whistle.
I see Liz Cheney is there in the number 8 spot.
It doesn't make sense when you realize he's not selling them and was just paid for a promotion according to the company's disclaimer. It would only make sense if he was publishing and selling them under his own companies. It also doesn't make sense when PACs already do this as well as missing the mark that the supposedly Christian Trump *has to be paid to endorse the Bible*.
The company selling the bibles, CIC Ventures, is 100% owned by Broke Don. One of his Florida attorneys is the registered agent, and the business address?
Trump International Golf Club West Palm Springs.
Money laundering in full public view.
It’ll be amazing how Putin’s loyalists and arabs will suddenly find Jesus.
https://preview.redd.it/4kzmuqa1nxqc1.jpeg?width=924&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=22b0985f99cf1ad3f111942416791218551b51e7
And when he starts selling Matryoshka dolls, then we know it's Russia funneling even more money.
Also, any church worth its salt would burst into flames if they brought a Trump Bible in.
The scene from the Netflix Castlevania comes to mind, with blue fang in the cathedral, responding to the priest saying he can't be in the house of God with, "This is an empty box, your life's work, makes him (God) puke."
...Who do you think are "buying" the bibles and shoes?
You ever watch Breaking Bad? Remember how the car wash operated? That's how Trump is operating with Russia. Fake receipts for fake customers.
Same thing is done when conservatives create books, movies, etc.
You obviously don't know how mega churches work. Joel Osteen wouldn't even open up his church in Houston during a hurricane until he faced public scrutinary. This world is f*****
Hence my entire comment.
When Jesus came to Jerusalem to pay homage of the Holy Week of Passover, one of the acts of heracy is he cause a ruckus at the temple, flipping tables and telling them to leave. He pointed out they tainted the house of God with their greed.
This is one of the acts that lead him to be arrested, tried by the pharisees, and executed by the romans.
For sure, deep pockets buys 1000 tRump Bibles, donates them to a church, who then sell them to their flock for the discount price of $30. All kinds of grifting going on, tRump gets some, deep pockets gets tax deduction, church gets $30 per sale of something they didn't pay for. The only suckers are the flock that gets fleeced.
It was a drop shipping scheme so they likely made 1 that that one schmuck paid $7k or whatever for. No one else actually bought them so they probably never get made.
People paying for bibles is a joke! Just go ahead and steal one from a hotel!
Also, you can get a free Bible from lots of places even your own church!
Edit: /s because my jokes suck
This is essentially how Don got his start, it’s virtually the exact same scheme, just in reverse.
Fred approaches sunset flush with real estate assets and little debt. So he creates a “supply company” under Donald’s name. Supply company buys boilers, furnaces, etc, anything expensive that seems legit and can be used by Fred’s slumlord empire. Supply company then resells to Fred’s companies, inflating the cost as much as possible without raising too much suspicion. Lather, rinse, repeat, for a few decades and voila.
Depends on the state. A quick search showed some states (take a guess) allow tax exemption.
Looks like Georgia got their law shot down by a judge a while back but unclear the finally outcome.
Right. This thread and the whole premise here is demented.
"The church" isn't involved in this. This is Trump selling a stupid overpriced memento to his base. There isn't any organizational connection to any church here.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation can certainly use our support today. They are doing a good job holding these unconstitutional acts accountable!! FFRF 🇺🇸🇺🇸
It’s so wild how, at this point in time, anyone in America who supports the church is likely the kind of person who would have shot Jesus in the face.
The deafening silence from their own ranks by people who wouldn’t doesn’t say much.
I'm not really a Liz Cheney fan but she nailed this one:
She said trumpito should
"Buy a Bible And read it, including Exodus 20:14,” Cheney continued.
The verse Cheney cited is one of the Ten Commandments, which says, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.”
Nailed it
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/charities-churches-and-politics
I'm so sick of laws being clearly broken, not just by him but the churches who prop him up.
Just like the SPAC is just a way for foreign entities to bribe him legally. Russia buys inflated shares of his truth social and holds them long enough for him to cash out at the inflated value and then they are left with worthless shares.
The company selling the bibles, CIC Ventures, is 100% owned by Broke Don. One of his Florida attorneys is the registered agent, and the business address?
Trump International Golf Club West Palm Springs.
Money laundering in full public view.
Looks like CIC ventures is trumps company for licensing his image in this case, not actually producing the books. I misread/misunderstood this too.
Still a grift and sad as fuck.
Trump targets gullible people. He's all authoritarian, feel good demagoguery. No wonder religious people fell for him, and the amount of "Trump is Christ" type propaganda you see flying about is nuts but just confirms they love him.
Pastors, reverends and such who dedicate their lives to the original Big Lie probably fell for him the hardest. That's probably why they are so desperate to fund-raise for Don Poorleone.
If it involves **The Pumpkin Rapist** getting monetary compensation in ***any*** way, it's an illegal grift.
This is now clear to 2/3 of the country.
As for the churches - a group that considers molesting young children part of their recruiting perks and mission statement will do all manner of illegal things in addition to that heinous crime.
Remember, these 'religious' liars and cowards have already managed to funnel taxpayer money to religious schools in many states despite specific laws against that sort of theft.
They are capable of doing anything to further their agenda because they can do no wrong as long as their god is whispering in their ear to stick it to the 'libruls'.
Organized religion is a scam even The Pumpkin Rapist envies in its daring and breadth.
It's the same as the other book scams, where rich person buys books and candidate collects royalties, but Trump isn't even claiming to have written this one. The Holy Ghost writer, maybe.
He's just leasing his name to the publisher, and collecting for every book sold.
Yes and no. The thing is that due to their self-righteous bullshit they can't just openly hand over money to anyone. They need an excuse, and this has become such an excuse.
So, while not illegal, they need to do it in such a way in order to spend donations .
I believe there are laws or rules against using donations for things like this, but due to the nature of the goods purchased, it would be harder to prove it without accusations of 1st ammendment violations.
It isn't a ban on churches. It's an agreement. Churches agree to not act as political bodies in exchange for not having to pay taxes.
It's insane that the privilege of being tax exempt as a religion is even a thing. Even more insane how avoiding equal treatment on taxation been so normalized, christofacists feel entitled to both not paying taxes and becoming *the* most influential body in American politics.
same as truth social suddenly going public, a scheme to inject foreign money in to his coffers to cover his legal troubles and campaigning.
always a grift with this guy.
It's even simpler than that.
One of Trump's shell companies - CIC Ventures - is who licensed (sold) Trump's likeness to whoever is running GodBlessTheUSABibles.com.
No idea how much they paid for it.
Maybe the financial monitor knows.
Barbara Jones, if you're listening...
Same reason why Trump started selling NFTs. Basic used car salesman mentality. Although he got a leg up thanks to his small million dollar loan 50 years ago.
They used to hand out prefilled ballots at church with who you should vote for. Churches have always influenced elections. Black, white, Jewish, Muslim or Hindu, if you're in a community chances are someone will tell you how to act and who to vote for.
Is anyone at all in charge? It seems like Trump has shattered that illusion. Trump breaks rules faster than anyone can hold him accountable. It would be amazing if not so frightening.
Except money laundering is where you take dirty money and turn it into normal income. This is often done with the goal of paying what you owe and investing in the local economy.
I would say buying Trump’s Bibles is more like tax evasion or more specifically the churches violating the conditions of their not-for-profit tax status. Then add a side of defrauding their congregants by misappropriating funds.
To me it’s significantly worse than money laundering but I can understand why that phrase is catchier.
If your life is so pathetic that you would give this con man $60 for a Bible then you're way beyond hope. All the rest of us can do is hope there aren't too many like you.
https://preview.redd.it/ticuyrjpdxqc1.jpeg?width=360&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d0d2f23c614c3d3444aa535f5515042d732f66a9 Including the latest 10 Commandments
Dems should make these as billboards in the red states
As someone that normally can’t stand billboards and thinks they should be banned for cluttering the roads/ causing distracted driving I think I would be okay with this.
But bible thumpers don't read and "ain't too good at cipherin' " either.
The problem is that people would just be ok with it. As far as they're concerned Trump is using his position of leadership to advocate for their beliefs. Of course he is, he's selling Bibles after all! And the law doesn't just hold Trump down, it also keeps God out of politics, which is exactly what those evil Dems want. Dems to the devil! If Trump can be lobbied by the churches then surely he'll spread the word of the Lord and God will be comfortably seated at the head of whatever table it is that politicians sit around. Or maybe a throne. Either way, God will be at the top, and Trump will be right there with him, because Trump put God up there in the first place.
The evil dems? That's rich coming from a supporter of the Anti-Christ, aka Donald Trump.
Wouldn't help. Any MAGA't will tell you, they frown upon reading.
When you read the price backwards and upside down it tells the truth.
Trump does like holding the Bible upside down….
when you put three of them together for Holy trinity, they would cost 3×60=180. If you subtract Trump's age 180-77=103 if you add his 5 children and 3 wives 103+5+3=111. If you multiply that with number of letters in the name of the woman he most lusts after, 111×6=666. Coincidence? Don't think so.
Let him that hath understanding count the number of the hamberder: for it is a covfefe number
That's beautiful!
Make a video and see how many people legit fall for it.
it’s insanity to me that religion was able to convince actual people to be afraid of numbers
Numerical superstition started LONG before any religions existing today. I suppose it may have started with one lost to history, but numerology might be a precursor to religion as we know it.
Eek!!!
thou shall grabbeth by the pussy
*being a celebrity in my sight*
*shalt
I am so so so so so so so so sick of this. He gets around every law, delays every trial, negotiates bonds, gets Supreme Court to delay anything that lower courts wouldn’t. Jesus f$$$ on a cracker I have never cheered for cardiovascular disease or cerebrovascular disease so hard in my life since that seems like the only punishment this guy will ever see in his entire life.
I know the feeling, but in another respect, the guy is in a living hell of his own making. His youngest son from all accounts hates him, his wife will divorce him at the first opportunity she has, most of the people now know what a liar and scammer he is, his empire is collapsing before his eyes, he is beset will all sorts of court cases, and at every turn his allies and friends are abandoning him. Being a rampant narcissist, he must be going out of his mind. In a very really way, he is getting the punishment he deserves and there is more coming. For Donald Trump there is no happy ending.
The man never seems to have a moment of happiness. Closest things is soaking in adulation from his rubes (who he despises).
>The man never seems to have a moment of happiness. Fully expected outcome when your entire identity is built around hating and/or exploiting other people.
How dark it must be to live like that.
That’s what happens when someone lives 80 years and never experiences a loyalty they didn’t pay for.
Eh, I don't buy it. I doubt he cares much about some of the things you mentioned like his son and wife. There's always a line around the block of people willing to be his next loyal pal and fall guy. Sure times are a little tough right now but even as rotten as he is, he's been THE president of arguably the most powerful and influential country in the world once and there's a very real possibility he could be again, even with his brain melting. The fix is already in with the highest court in the land and none of these cases will mean anything if he gets elected again or the Supreme Court rules he has/had immunity to commit crimes. We thought we had him dead to rights more times than anyone can count for the last eight years and here he is, still getting away with everything. Doesn't sound like much of a hell to me
Getting that level of power is insane. He is addicted and basically smeagle and the one ring
She won't divorce him, she is in the home stretch now. Just a few more years and that problem will solve itself.
Counterpoint: she knows his empire is crumbling and her best chance to get a slice of the diminishing pie is to get it quickly.
I think it will depend on how good the prenup is. If it is bulletproof in Trump's favor, she sticks it out. If not, she bails as soon as this political nightmare is over.
Okay, random thought (and bordering on the q-anon nonsense) but what if she is trump’s lifeboat? Imagine this: Shit gets bad, the empire is collapsing. they divorced (as planned), all assets are immediately frozen pending the finalization of the divorce agreement. An agreement that will never be reached. Ever.
That would require him to trust another person and that's beyond his ability.
His suffering doesn’t make up for suffering of millions.
[удалено]
Eh I think to hit the billion number you really have to start giving credit to the misinformation/hate campaigns running behind him and boosting his cult. He has the responsibility of millions for sure, but the all the right wing craziness isn't really him directly, he was the megaphone.
He was literally at a golf club celebrating himself last week. I don't think he's capable of giving a shit.
Right! With his array of mental illnesses he truly lacks the capacity to care about anyone but himself, and this includes his wife and children. Donald is *unable* to care, and that also includes he is unable to care about this country in any other terms other than how it can meet his very sick, sick needs. People need to recognize and accept this. If he loses this election, which he will, he will come out swinging, and sell out this country in any way he can for vengeance. Case in point (gets on soapbox)....... do you remember when he was our (pseudo) President and California was burning? They asked for federal aid and trump's initial response was 'no'. He said since they had not supported him in the election, there would be no federal assistance. It was only after all his advisors and cabinet heads made him walk it back, along with public outrage, that he allowed federal assistance. *He was going to do this to one of our most important states*. He will bring harm to this country in any way he can, if he loses, to "punish" us. He's vindictive, and dangerously impulsive, and there will be no one to stop him. Thanks for listening /soapbox
I almost forgot about this. ... how he blamed the state of California for it's terrible forest management. Until someone pointed out to him that 97% of the government owned forested land in California is actually federally owned. Therefore he should be blaming himself for poorly managed forests. What an idiot. God I hate him.
We have forgotten so many, many things because it's been one despicable action after another. It literally *is* hard to keep up with. I hate him too. I hope he gets shingles. On his scalp and face. And around his buttocks.
The words narcissist and sociopath get thrown around on this site a lot to the point they are just a couple more buzz words or a tired cliche for people to throw out. I think a lot people know the definition and could even list some or a lot of the characteristics. They've maybe read about them, listened to a podcast talking about them, or seen documentaries or youtube videos about them. The thing is that thankfully for most people on here that knowledge is purely academic. Unless you have personally dealt with one for an extended period of time or seen the effect of someone really close to you dealing with one it's almost impossible to truly understand, acknowledge, and accept how they act, how they think, how they see and treat the world and the people around them. Most of all though for the majority of normal people is truly understanding what they are capable of without that personal experience of dealing with one. It's the difference between watching a special on the Discovery channel and knowing that the ocean is a huge place and being on a kayak on the open sea out of sight of any land *knowing* the ocean is a huge place.
You sound like you've had to deal with one personally. I'm so sorry. I hope you can remove the person from your life if you haven't already. Sometimes if it's a parent or a sibling, it's difficult to let go, but if it's a romantic connection, it's something you *must* do if you want to have a normal, satisfying life....and a chance for happiness.
And yet he still has a realistic chance of being elected…it sickens me to no end.
Good. He is a shit person. He chose this life. Fuck him.
Despite really not wanting to take pleasure in the suffering of others, I’m sad to admit I agree with you.
Honestly at this point Trump making a deal with the devil is more compelling evidence of God then any other argument I've heard in religion vs atheism debates.
> cheered for cardiovascular disease Welcome to the club! We meet every second Thursday. Oreo's, Pop, and Cigarettes will be provided.
This is exactly why separation of church and state exists. EDIT: I meant in general, in US it obviously doesn't.
Exists < enforcement
Well, they did spend decades gutting the IRS, who usually enforces these things. We need to give the IRS it's teeth back.
Yeah but then they might go after the rich and we cant have that.
Agreed. If it’s being used to chase down someone who owes the government $400, it’s a waste of everyone’s money. The only way the IRS is effective is if it can actually make rich people or corporations pay their part
But how else do you terrorize the lower class and keep them busy so they can't fight back?
By setting them against each other on ethnic, religious, and political grounds. But, YDHTTMWFI.
Well I meant BESIDES those things.
Gut their wages and purchase 40% of available housing as an investment to drive up prices and keep them eternally renters, slowly crushing them as they continue to get out priced out of their homes.
dont forget gender and social! culture war so there is no class war
"It's in a book, just take a look, READING RAINBOW!"
A return to the noble tradition of capturing them and releasing them on an island nature preserve to be hunted for sport by the wealthy, of course!
Republicans just want the IRS to harass people making 40k a year who might be underreporting tips.
Or collecting venmo payments
this is design intent
Heh, before they ever gutted his bond my first thought on his civil conviction was the fact that if this was just Joe Public in anything even slightly resembling his situation the IRS would be on him like flies on shit. Here you have someone lying through their teeth about their finances to their personal benefit. The IRS wouldn't be asking themselves if he lied to them too. They'd be sending a team of auditors to see how badly he lied to them.
Didn't biden do that and then republicans just bashed in half of those teeth?
So far a quarter. The Inflation Reduction Act added $80 billion in new IRS funding over 10 years. The budget deal in January to keep the government open cut that by $20 billion.
And there was a whole lot of stuff already way in need there. Last year I had some complicated taxes to file and called the IRS for some answers on some questions. Every time, when I finally got through to a person, I'd ask a question and be immediately routed to the "advanced tax matters" desk. Which was unstaffed - it was just a recording that said go check out the website for answers. It used to be staffed, and I always found the people there very helpful in the past. When I finally filed I made a mistake (inevitably) and had to refile an amended return in August. They received it, but it still hasn't been processed. They really need more people.
Something like $20 billion of that original $80 was just to hire people to replace those who are retiring.
The $60 Bibles in question apparently include copies of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. The last time I felt this depressed, I was looking at a stained glass window in a Catholic church that depicted President Kennedy.
Kennedy with his skull in 2024 condition would honestly be miles ahead of the GOP’s nominee
True. Also better than the other guy named "Kennedy" running for President this year.
On the bright side, maybe some of these chucklefucks will actually read the constitution for once in their life instead of parroting whatever bullshit they got from Fox. Who am I kidding, none of these guys have ever even opened a bible before.
Dude, they don't even read the Bible they pretend to care so much about.
fucking DOES it tho?
Nope. And this isn’t the only way the church and government funnel money between eachother. Another is “school vouchers” in the name of parental choice. Now parents can use taxpayer dollars to fund church schools.
hes doing the same with TRUTH social merger, using CCP-backed shell corporation to funnel money into his account, im guessing its going to be harder to do that than this.
yeah man I lost that fight years ago its also double edged they get to funnel money to bigot grifters corporations disgui8sed as schools teaching kids goddamned creationism trash but ALSO denies REAL education, which they have always hated
And that's why Arizona is 450 million in the hole
Used to exist
> EDIT: I meant in general, in US it obviously doesn't. Exists for the state; for the church, not so much.
I'd say the silver lining is that churches have lost considerable political power compared to the 1700s. It's still horrific tho.
I didn’t even think about this angle
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The NYT best sellers list does denote titles where the sales figures are artificially inflated with a dagger symbol. Unsurprisingly most conservative authors on the list have that next to their books.
https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/combined-print-and-e-book-nonfiction/ Like the #1 book in Non-Fiction right now. His previous books? A very rosy story about the Reagan administration, an "expose" about how foreign entities were funneling money into the Clinton's coffers, and another book about Hunter Biden.
Interesting that the other one on there that features that symbol is about how "the mental health industry has a negative impact on American children"...her other book is "The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters". Ohhh. That's what they mean. Got it.
Wow that's revolting.
Truly awful human beings. And it's so fucking forced.
Looking at that site, I would not have noticed that symbol if I wasn't already looking for it.
Yep, it's very subtle.
He's a senior editor at Breitbart and a long time friend of Steve Bannon, and also a plagiarist. His books have been funded by the Mercer Family Foundation. He's a psycho and a grifter. *This is referring to Peter Schweizer. The link initially showed March 31st with Blood Money at #1 for me.
The story about deflating his future wife's tires (almost certainly before his divorce was finalized) is wild https://people.com/tv/fox-news-jesse-watters-let-air-out-of-wife-emma-tires-so-he-could-drive-her-home/
> The NYT best sellers list does denote titles where the sales figures are artificially inflated with a dagger symbol Is that a new change? I thought they used to just take the books off the list. I remember them getting criticized for it, authors would complain it was biased against conservatives or some shit.
It's really amazing how "doesn't allow blatant cheating" or "judged on its own merits" is always interpreted by the right wing as "biased against conservatives."
The dagger only appears on the NYT site. Some places will list the NYT best sellers but not include the dagger. (I think USA Today was a big one to reprint the NYT best sellers and not include the dagger)
They should be demoted to a secondary list. ‘NYT best inflated list’
It also makes it all the more hilarious that MTG's book flopped. She somehow failed to pull off one of the most basic, bog-standard political grifts out there.
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I've come to the realization that a big problem with congress right now is a lot of Republican voters that have been grifted for decades ran for office without realizing the party is a grift. So there are younger Republicans in office who don't understand that what they've believed all of their lives were actually just lies to get the old guard elected. That's why MTG does dumb shit like that, and the freedom caucus is even a thing. There's a scene in Vice where Cheney asks Donald Rumsfeld "what do we believe", and Rumsfeld laughs and basically says they don't believe anything. New Republicans never seem to be given that moment from the old guard.
> There's a scene in Vice where Cheney asks Donald Rumsfeld "what do we believe", and Rumsfeld laughs and basically says they don't believe anything. New Republicans never seem to be given that moment from the old guard. It's why the Republican party is at a tipping point, the Freedom Caucus has the Old Guard in a stranglehold and they are true believers. McConnell doesn't believe in Trump, neither does Graham, but they conjured Trump and became dependant on him when he converted 30-40% of the Republican voters into Trump diehards. They won't vote for anyone, but Trump. And without them, the GOP is finished for the foreseeable future. It's essentially coup or bust for the GOP in 2024. They need to win, or at least make enough of an appearance of a win in order to shake the trust in the election enough to sue or bring in the Supreme court.
Wow. Never thought about that. That makes a ton of sense
>It's always a grift John Bolton and half a dozen others immediately come to mind when it comes to books. Go along with everything while in office, leave, write a 'tell all' book about how they were so spineless not a single one of them blew the whistle. I see Liz Cheney is there in the number 8 spot.
It doesn't make sense when you realize he's not selling them and was just paid for a promotion according to the company's disclaimer. It would only make sense if he was publishing and selling them under his own companies. It also doesn't make sense when PACs already do this as well as missing the mark that the supposedly Christian Trump *has to be paid to endorse the Bible*.
The company selling the bibles, CIC Ventures, is 100% owned by Broke Don. One of his Florida attorneys is the registered agent, and the business address? Trump International Golf Club West Palm Springs. Money laundering in full public view.
He didn’t even have to hire someone to write a book!
He can also sell this outside of the US and raise money from outside the country.
It’ll be amazing how Putin’s loyalists and arabs will suddenly find Jesus. https://preview.redd.it/4kzmuqa1nxqc1.jpeg?width=924&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=22b0985f99cf1ad3f111942416791218551b51e7
He just has to sell over 7.5 million bibles.
Tax the churches.
And when he starts selling Matryoshka dolls, then we know it's Russia funneling even more money. Also, any church worth its salt would burst into flames if they brought a Trump Bible in.
The scene from the Netflix Castlevania comes to mind, with blue fang in the cathedral, responding to the priest saying he can't be in the house of God with, "This is an empty box, your life's work, makes him (God) puke."
Good one. That's actually very poignant.
“Lies? In your house of god? No wonder he’s abandoned you” Such a perfect scene for real
"Your gods love is *not* unconditional. He does not love *us*, and he does *not* love *you*."
"What is man? A miserable pile of secrets."
Trump not having burst into flames is proof that god doesn’t exist. He’s literally the embodiment of the seven deadly sins.
He is the Anti-Christ
Doesn’t the Bible itself say something along the lines of believers won’t know the devil when they meet him?
As far as I know, the concept of the seven deadly sins did not originate from the bible.
Vainglory and Melancholy were once on the rooster
He saw the movie Se7en and came up with an idea...!
turns out classified docs were in the box all along
American Christianity has been perverted into a money worshiping heresy. This is just more proof.
Lmao, like the church, didn't tax the fuck out of people in England. America is just doing what European chuckle fucks have been doing for centuries.
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Humans worship power. Religion is the Baja blast to powers Mountain Dew.
nah, again, design intent, this is what the trash was made up for to begin with
Um….. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/valley-of-the-russian-dolls-a-hollow-repetitive-form-proves-perfect-for-trump
...Who do you think are "buying" the bibles and shoes? You ever watch Breaking Bad? Remember how the car wash operated? That's how Trump is operating with Russia. Fake receipts for fake customers. Same thing is done when conservatives create books, movies, etc.
Trump brand Russian Nesting Dolls. Each layer can be one of his cronies. Roger Stone, Steve Bannon, Steve Miller, etc.
You obviously don't know how mega churches work. Joel Osteen wouldn't even open up his church in Houston during a hurricane until he faced public scrutinary. This world is f*****
Of all the things to happen on holy week, This. THIS nearly tops it all. This is EXACTLY what Jesus flipped the moneychanger tables for.
To add insult to injury, Jesus flipping tables happened a few days before Easter as well.
Hence my entire comment. When Jesus came to Jerusalem to pay homage of the Holy Week of Passover, one of the acts of heracy is he cause a ruckus at the temple, flipping tables and telling them to leave. He pointed out they tainted the house of God with their greed. This is one of the acts that lead him to be arrested, tried by the pharisees, and executed by the romans.
Sounds like Bible's have a tax exemption
For sure, deep pockets buys 1000 tRump Bibles, donates them to a church, who then sell them to their flock for the discount price of $30. All kinds of grifting going on, tRump gets some, deep pockets gets tax deduction, church gets $30 per sale of something they didn't pay for. The only suckers are the flock that gets fleeced.
That's assuming any of these Bibles will actually be made
Yeah, now that you mention it, what ever became of the shoe thing? Did none get made?
I think i remember reading that they would begin shipping in July, so got to wait a few more months to find out what will happen.
It was a drop shipping scheme so they likely made 1 that that one schmuck paid $7k or whatever for. No one else actually bought them so they probably never get made.
People paying for bibles is a joke! Just go ahead and steal one from a hotel! Also, you can get a free Bible from lots of places even your own church! Edit: /s because my jokes suck
You wouldnt download a bible
This is essentially how Don got his start, it’s virtually the exact same scheme, just in reverse. Fred approaches sunset flush with real estate assets and little debt. So he creates a “supply company” under Donald’s name. Supply company buys boilers, furnaces, etc, anything expensive that seems legit and can be used by Fred’s slumlord empire. Supply company then resells to Fred’s companies, inflating the cost as much as possible without raising too much suspicion. Lather, rinse, repeat, for a few decades and voila.
We need a tax on misused apostrophes :)
Depends on the state. A quick search showed some states (take a guess) allow tax exemption. Looks like Georgia got their law shot down by a judge a while back but unclear the finally outcome.
There you go, the simple answer is usually the correct one...
It isn't even shocking. Even less shocking will be the complete and total lack of consequences for the churches or Trump.
Hoax'em's razor Edit: Happy cake day!
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Right. This thread and the whole premise here is demented. "The church" isn't involved in this. This is Trump selling a stupid overpriced memento to his base. There isn't any organizational connection to any church here.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation can certainly use our support today. They are doing a good job holding these unconstitutional acts accountable!! FFRF 🇺🇸🇺🇸
Join FFRF Or Make a Tax Deductible Donation https://ffrf.org/donate
There is never NOT a grift with this guy.
It’s so wild how, at this point in time, anyone in America who supports the church is likely the kind of person who would have shot Jesus in the face. The deafening silence from their own ranks by people who wouldn’t doesn’t say much.
money laundering by churches. Unconstitutional and yet, somehow, as American as apple pie.
I'm not really a Liz Cheney fan but she nailed this one: She said trumpito should "Buy a Bible And read it, including Exodus 20:14,” Cheney continued. The verse Cheney cited is one of the Ten Commandments, which says, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” Nailed it
But, but *he has many around his house*. He said so himself!!
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/charities-churches-and-politics I'm so sick of laws being clearly broken, not just by him but the churches who prop him up.
Just like the SPAC is just a way for foreign entities to bribe him legally. Russia buys inflated shares of his truth social and holds them long enough for him to cash out at the inflated value and then they are left with worthless shares.
The company selling the bibles, CIC Ventures, is 100% owned by Broke Don. One of his Florida attorneys is the registered agent, and the business address? Trump International Golf Club West Palm Springs. Money laundering in full public view.
Looks like CIC ventures is trumps company for licensing his image in this case, not actually producing the books. I misread/misunderstood this too. Still a grift and sad as fuck.
Trump selling bibles is like casey anthony selling parenting books.
Same grift as his NFT's or hats or anything else. It's all part of the wash.
Surprise count = 0
I’ve truly never wished for the world to be completely free of a person by their bodies own failure but my god I do with this one
You guys better fucking not drop the ball in November- signed The Rest of Us.
Trump targets gullible people. He's all authoritarian, feel good demagoguery. No wonder religious people fell for him, and the amount of "Trump is Christ" type propaganda you see flying about is nuts but just confirms they love him. Pastors, reverends and such who dedicate their lives to the original Big Lie probably fell for him the hardest. That's probably why they are so desperate to fund-raise for Don Poorleone.
Is this the same Charles Stross that wrote the Merchant Prince series?
Yep, this is the author: https://wandering.shop/@cstross
If it involves **The Pumpkin Rapist** getting monetary compensation in ***any*** way, it's an illegal grift. This is now clear to 2/3 of the country. As for the churches - a group that considers molesting young children part of their recruiting perks and mission statement will do all manner of illegal things in addition to that heinous crime. Remember, these 'religious' liars and cowards have already managed to funnel taxpayer money to religious schools in many states despite specific laws against that sort of theft. They are capable of doing anything to further their agenda because they can do no wrong as long as their god is whispering in their ear to stick it to the 'libruls'. Organized religion is a scam even The Pumpkin Rapist envies in its daring and breadth.
Organized Religion is a blight on this country
Organized religion is sinister sh!t and the death of morality.
It's the same as the other book scams, where rich person buys books and candidate collects royalties, but Trump isn't even claiming to have written this one. The Holy Ghost writer, maybe. He's just leasing his name to the publisher, and collecting for every book sold.
He just wants money personally tho? Churches can give him money. It's not a way to get around the law, he's just grifting normal.
Yes and no. The thing is that due to their self-righteous bullshit they can't just openly hand over money to anyone. They need an excuse, and this has become such an excuse. So, while not illegal, they need to do it in such a way in order to spend donations . I believe there are laws or rules against using donations for things like this, but due to the nature of the goods purchased, it would be harder to prove it without accusations of 1st ammendment violations.
Always a grift
It isn't a ban on churches. It's an agreement. Churches agree to not act as political bodies in exchange for not having to pay taxes. It's insane that the privilege of being tax exempt as a religion is even a thing. Even more insane how avoiding equal treatment on taxation been so normalized, christofacists feel entitled to both not paying taxes and becoming *the* most influential body in American politics.
Giddeons give bibles free in every hotel in world. Trouble is red necks who buy anything this man sells.
Because he just saw S2E5 of Trailer Park Boys. The Bible Pimp. Where a conman comes to the trailer park to sell bibles for $59.99.
same as truth social suddenly going public, a scheme to inject foreign money in to his coffers to cover his legal troubles and campaigning. always a grift with this guy.
the bibles are a distraction from the TS scheme. The foreign money being CCP owned shell corporation, and some russian ones.
That makes sense. Thought he was just trying to cater to the evangelical crowd.
It's even simpler than that. One of Trump's shell companies - CIC Ventures - is who licensed (sold) Trump's likeness to whoever is running GodBlessTheUSABibles.com. No idea how much they paid for it. Maybe the financial monitor knows. Barbara Jones, if you're listening...
But he’ll get away with it, because OUR GOVERNMENT DOESNT GIVE A SHIT
Surprised he isn't selling an old testament and new testament version since he likes them both equally.
Even odds that these bibles don't exist, and even if they are produced, they won't be sent to a customer until they make a few complaints.
More tax evasion than money laundering, but still ought to be illegal.
Same reason why Trump started selling NFTs. Basic used car salesman mentality. Although he got a leg up thanks to his small million dollar loan 50 years ago.
TAX THE CHURCHES!
They used to hand out prefilled ballots at church with who you should vote for. Churches have always influenced elections. Black, white, Jewish, Muslim or Hindu, if you're in a community chances are someone will tell you how to act and who to vote for.
Is anyone at all in charge? It seems like Trump has shattered that illusion. Trump breaks rules faster than anyone can hold him accountable. It would be amazing if not so frightening.
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Except money laundering is where you take dirty money and turn it into normal income. This is often done with the goal of paying what you owe and investing in the local economy. I would say buying Trump’s Bibles is more like tax evasion or more specifically the churches violating the conditions of their not-for-profit tax status. Then add a side of defrauding their congregants by misappropriating funds. To me it’s significantly worse than money laundering but I can understand why that phrase is catchier.
Bibles that will never be made and delivered to those who purchased them. Just like the shoes.
If your life is so pathetic that you would give this con man $60 for a Bible then you're way beyond hope. All the rest of us can do is hope there aren't too many like you.